The present invention relates generally to boat consoles and, more particularly, to a system providing a portable equipment carrier and console system for boats that is attractive and easily used.
Sophisticated electronic instruments and equipment are widely used in boating to enhance its safety, utility, and enjoyment. Such electronic instruments and equipment include, for example, depth finders, fish finders, and other sonar equipment, radar equipment, ship-to-shore radios, CB's, cellular telephones, televisions, and cassette tape players. Such equipment is expensive, lightweight, and easily carried and is desirable in the used equipment market.
The theft or destruction of such equipment, particularly marine equipment, is a serious problem in marinas and other boat-storage facilities. Many boats have open cabins and cabins closable only by curtains and do not provide security against the entry of a thief. Consequently, the portable and expensive electronic equipment is easily stolen. As a result, many boat owners want to remove the equipment from the boat during periods when the boat is unattended. Many types of equipment are also used off the boat, and boat owners frequently desire to remove the equipment from the boat for this reason as well.
Many boats are equipped with a console which provides convenient access at a single location to the controls and indicators needed to operate a boat and its accessories. Such consoles generally include shelves and compartments for receiving the electronic instruments and subsidiary equipment that the boat owner may use. Electronic instruments must be firmly fastened to the boat to protect them against damage from movements caused by the unpredictable, sometimes sudden movement of the boat in the water. Removal of electronic instruments and equipment when the boat is to be left unattended and return of the equipment to the boat when it is to be used requires unfastening and fastening the equipment to the boat and electrically disconnecting and connecting it to the boat's electrical system. In addition, most boat owners have several expensive electronic instruments installed in their boats. This removal of such equipment to protect it from theft is a time-consuming and inconvenient procedure, particularly where the equipment is built in to the boat to enhance the appearance of the boat's interior, and the inconvenience discourages such removal, which frequently must occur on an almost daily basis. Furthermore, carrying several instruments of disparate size and shape increases the risk of damage by dropping an instrument in transport.